


Mystery teas

by SilenceOfTheCookies



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga), Bleach, One Piece
Genre: Angst, Birthday, Date gone wrong, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Ghosts, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Modern AU, Nerves, Other, Planning A Date, Scolding, Unhappy marriage, meeting your boyfriends family, reassurance, unspoken feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:16:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27160325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilenceOfTheCookies/pseuds/SilenceOfTheCookies
Summary: A collection of mystery prompts given on Tumblr for my 200 followers event.Tags will be updated as chapters are published, each chapter will have warnings at the top.
Relationships: Charlotte Katakuri/Reader, Crocodile (One Piece)/Reader, Dracule Mihawk/Reader, Kuchiki Byakuya/Reader, Roronoa Zoro/Reader, Sabo/Reader, Trafalgar D. Water Law/Reader, Vinsmoke Sanji/Reader, William Vangeance/Reader
Kudos: 84





	1. Star Mint - Trafalgar Law

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: hurt/comfort, angst, mention of character death  
> Female reader

Everyone in the sub was on edge. Nobody knew why, but Law seemed to be in a foul mood. You were used to him being grumpy and even a spoilsport sometimes, but today downright scared the crew. Law had yelled at people for the smallest things, he had thrown his plate through the kitchen when Penguin spoke a little too loud for his liking, and he had even shoved Bepo out of the way when he tried to ask if everything was ok. He had this scary look on his face all day, and Bepo even wondered if their captain was possessed by some evil spirit.

So of course, as the captains girlfriend, they asked you to fix it.

You were unsure of what to do. Law was always a very reasonable person. If there was something bothering him, he’d say so. If someone asked him a question, he’d answer, even if the tone he used wasn’t always too nice. For him to brush everyone aside and lash out like that… it seemed something was bothering him very much.

Hoping that Law would at least talk to you in private, you headed towards his room. You listened at the door first to hear if he was in, and then you knocked.

“Law? It’s me. Can I talk to you for a minute?”  
“I’m busy. Go away.”  
“Law, please… I know something is up. You haven’t been yourself all day.” There were a few seconds of silence before Law spoke up again.  
“I don’t want to talk about it.” The tone of his voice broke your heart. In contrast to the harsh words and the yelling from this morning, he sounded so quiet. Broken, almost.  
“Alright… I won’t force you if you don’t want to. But if you change your mind, just come find me, ok? I’m here for you.”

You waited for a reply for a few seconds, but it never came. Letting out a sigh, you returned to the kitchen where the others were waiting. Once you entered the room, they looked up at you with expectant eyes. You solemnly shook your head and their hopeful expressions dropped. They nodded back at you and continued their duties as silently as possible, hoping not to piss Law off again.

You went about your day as usual, but Law never left your thoughts. If he didn’t want to talk there was nothing you could do except leave him to deal with whatever he was going through, but it just didn’t sit right with you to do nothing. Knowing Law hadn’t left his room for a few hours now, you made him a cup of tea and some rice balls. Maybe he wouldn’t even accept it, but it was the only thing you could come up with right now. After putting everything on a tray, you headed towards Laws room and knocked on the door once again.

“Law? It’s me again. I’ve brought you some tea and rice balls. Can I come in?”

There was a silence before you heard a “yes” coming from the other side of the door. As you entered the room, you were a little surprised at what you saw. Law sat on his bed, wrapped in his blanket, knees drawn to his chest. When he turned to face you, you noticed he had been crying. You put the tea and rice balls down on his nightstand and faced him.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”  
“… can you stay with me for a while?”

You gave him a small smile and nodded. As you were about to walk towards the chair at his desk to give him some space, he grabbed your hand to stop you. He didn’t say anything, but his expression told you all you needed to know. You walked back to the bed, sat down next to him and wrapped your arms around him. Law relaxed in your hold and leaned against you.

“Want to tell me about it now?”  
“…Today marks the day someone very important to me died.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“So am I… it was my fault that he died. If he didn’t try to protect me… if he hadn’t left with me…” You simply held Law as his words trailed off.  
“What was his name?”  
“…Cora-san.”  
“Want to tell me about him?”  
“It’s not a nice story.”  
“Tell me about him anyway. If he was someone important to you, I want to know about him.”

Law seemed to think about it for a bit before he spoke up. He told you everything. How he ended up with Doflamingo, how he met Corazon, how Corazon left with him to cure him… and how he died to protect him. You listened and tried to remember as much as possible. Law never told you much about his past, and now you knew why.

It was clear from everything he told you that he loved Corazon very much, and that the feeling was mutual. He choked up a bit throughout the explanation, and at the end of the story, when he told you about Corazons death, he needed to take a moment to calm himself down before he could finish talking. It broke your heart to see him blame himself for Corazons death, even if he didn’t do it on purpose.

“Law, I may not have met Cora-san myself but… I’m sure he never blamed you for his death. So please, don’t blame yourself. This is a choice Cora-san made because he wanted you to live and be happy. Of course you can be sad, and of course you can miss him. But it is not your fault.”

Law didn’t answer you but he simply nodded. Tightening your hold around him, you kissed him on the temple and then rested your head on top of his. The two of you stayed in a comfortable silence for a while before Law spoke up again.

“I’m sorry for my behaviour today.”  
“It’s fine, I understand. But next time, just come to me immediately, ok?”  
“I will.”


	2. Green Tea - Dracule Mihawk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none!  
> Reader gender not specified

You stepped out of the boat and looked around. The island was dark and all the trees were dead. There was no trace of life aside from you and the man next to you. Normally, you wouldn’t even have thought about setting foot on this foreboding island. But it was the home of the man you loved. And he had finally invited you to come over.

The two of you had been together for quite some time already. Mihawk would often come to visit you, but he always said his island was ‘no place for anyone but a pirate’. Because of that, he never let you come there. You also knew that for the last few years, Mihawk had two visitors living with him. Two other pirates, uninvited guests who he had not chased out for some reason. So of course, you said that you could always use the same strategy. Arrive uninvited and stay there. Mihawk, knowing you were capable of actually doing that, or at least trying, gave in. He didn’t want you wandering the island on your own, the humandrills were too dangerous.

That’s how Mihawk had picked you up in his little coffin-shaped boat, and how you had now arrived on Kuraigana Island. As you looked around, Mihawk stepped out of his boat too and tied it to the little pier. He then wrapped an arm around your waist as he started walking.

“Stay close, the humandrills know better than to attack me, but they won’t think twice about attacking you if you stray.”

You nodded and leaned into him a bit, taking full advantage of the situation. Mihawk noticed and chuckled as he continued walking. The scenery did not get any better. All plants were still dead, and once you got a little while from the shore, you could spot huge monkey-like creatures with weapons, hiding between the trees. The glare in their eyes told that they would strike at the first point of weakness. It unnerved you a little, and you were glad to have Mihawk by your side.

All worry about the humandrills disappeared the moment you saw the castle though. It was no fairy tale castle, but it was still an impressive piece of architecture, and very beautiful despite the somewhat eery feel it had to it. Mihawk chuckled at your awestruck expression and opened the door, letting you enter the building.

The inside of the castle reminded you even more of a classic vampire novel than the outside. Once you entered the castle, the first room you entered seemed to be fairly normal, except that it was rather empty. Once you passed through the double doors at the end of the room though, the feeling of being in a novel really hit you. It was a gigantic room, pretty much empty. High pillars supported the ceiling, and the ceiling itself used to have a painting on it. Most of the paint had already flaked off, and the parts that were still intact were covered in cobwebs. Upon closer inspection, you noticed that there were gargoyles close to the ceiling as well. To your left was a gigantic staircase leading up to the next floor, there was a hallway to the right, and another set of double doors right in front of you.

Mihawk proceeded to give you a rundown of the castle. There were hidden corridors and passageways everywhere. He even mentioned Zoro found a few of those on accident, and Perona helped explore the rooms behind locked doors.

The prettiest place was the chapel, which Mihawk had turned into a library. The room was well-lit with gigantic windows, and the stained glass windows almost gave an otherworldly feel to it. Mihawk described the way it looked when he found it, with rotten and broken benches and an altar full of battle marks, and you were surprised he managed to turn it around this much. There was one thing that bothered you about this place though.

“Mihawk, it’s freezing in here.”  
“It always is for some reason. It’s very refreshing in the summer. I think Perona mentioned something about ghosts living here. I did have to clean up some dead bodies from the chapel when I came to live here.” Mihawk said casually as he shrugged off his coat and put it around your shoulders. Shivers ran up your spine as you heard the story. Mihawk chuckled when he saw your fear.  
“Worry not, Y/N. There are no such things as ghosts. And if there are, I have never seen them, nor have they bothered me.”

His words did not comfort you, and you pulled his coat tighter around yourself, as if it was a magical relic that would protect you from any spirits. It didn’t help that the sun was already setting, casting an eerie red glow into the former chapel. Looking around, you felt like there was someone else in the room, someone apart from you and Mihawk. You heard Mihawk say something about getting changed before dinner as he pulled you away from the room. After staring at the room for a little while longer, you tore your eyes away from it, focussing on your boyfriend instead.

Dinner was nice, and after that the two of you had made yourself comfortable in front of the fireplace. It was nice to finally be there with him, but the uneasy feeling you got in the chapel never left. Despite the room being perfectly warm, you still caught yourself looking though the room from time to time, half expecting to find a spirit standing in a corner of the room, or to see an orb of light floating by. All the things you had heard from the stories. You never told Mihawk, but he caught you looking around the room every now and then. He knew very well he had scared you a little with his story but to be honest, your reactions amused him, and he was even enjoying teasing you a little.

When you asked him if he had heard that sound too, the sound of a humandrill outside the castle, he answered he hadn’t heard it. When a the flames made a sudden move in the wind, causing your head to read around at the change of lighting, he casually ask if something was wrong, only to hear you pretend to not have seen anything. Probably the most amusing thing was that you refused to take off his coat, even if it was a little big on you. He didn’t mind though, he had already put on his dress shirt and wasn’t planning on wearing his coat until he left the castle.

Time flew by, and soon it was time to go to bed. Mihawk and you walked up the stairs to the bedrooms, where Mihawk asked you a question he already knew the answer to.

“Would you like to have your own room, Y/N?”

Finally, you stopped holding back your thoughts.

“Are you mad? There’s freaking ghosts out here! They’ve been looking at me all night, I can feel it! I’m sleeping with you and that’s that!”

Mihawk nodded and opened the door to his bedroom, gesturing for you to go inside with a slight smile that he couldn’t hide anymore. He knew you’d be curled up in his arms all night, and to be honest, he wasn’t complaining.


	3. Mango - Vinsmoke Sanji

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: hurt/comfort

It broke your heart when you found out Sanji had left the crew to get married. The two of you had been together for a few years already, and honestly, you were starting to see a future with him, even if it was one at sea. Now he was saying he’d go marry someone else? You couldn’t believe it.

On the voyage to Whole Cake Island, you had been thinking about what to do when you’d see him again. Would you cry? Would you scream? Would you beg for him to come back with you? Or would you hit him? Tell him you were done? You couldn’t decide. Of course, you still loved him, but he’d let you go because his family called? Because he thought you and the crew wouldn’t fight a fucking emperor for him? He should’ve known better. Everyone knows the lengths Luffy would go for his crew. And he should have known the lengths you’d go for him.

So there you were, seeing him kick and insult Luffy, his captain and friend. All you and Nami could do was stand there and watch. You watched Nami regain her ability to move and hit Sanji. Just before he left, your eyes met. For a brief second, you could swear you could see regret in his eyes before they hardened again.

“Sanji…?”  
“Just let me go, Y/N."

After saying that he turned around and walked away. Those words had you nailed to the ground as you processed them. Let him go? How could you? He was the one who held your heart in his hands. You wanted to chase after him, to hit him, to yell at him,… but all you could do was collapse and start crying uncontrollably. Nami quickly wrapped her arms around you in a comforting hug, letting you cry on her shoulder. While doing this, she never stopped glaring daggers at Sanji as he got back into the carriage with his brothers.

\---

You were feeling so conflicted as you stood in the Fire Thank Pirates’ base. Before you, once again, stood Sanji. Sanji, who had left everyone for his family. Now he wanted to save them from a stupid assassination attempt? And Luffy was ok with that?! All you could do was sigh and resign to your fate, as the captain had made a decision and you knew you couldn’t change it. After agreeing on the plans, Sanji walked up to you before he left.

“Y/N, I-“  
“I don’t want to hear it, Sanji. You told me to let you go, and I did.”

You didn’t even stop walking while you said it. All the sadness had already left your body and had been cried out on Nami’s shoulder. All that remained now was anger. Did he seriously think he could just do all of that to you, and that all he needed to do to get you back was say sorry? You weren’t even sure if you could forgive him for doing what he had done, but you figured those were worries for later, when everyone was back on the ship.

\---

You had finally left Big Mom’s territory, and everyone was celebrating Sanji’s return. Everyone but you, that is. You had no idea how everyone could forgive him for trampling on their feelings so fast. Perhaps that was the difference between friendship love and romantic love. You sighed as you sat on the couch, staring at the fish in the aquarium. Up on the deck, everyone was drinking and laughing. You wondered if you were just being petty? But you were so damn mad. How could you pretend like nothing happened?

Lost in thoughts, you didn’t hear the sound of the door opening and closing. Sanji entered the room and looked at your face through the reflection of the glass. You looked a mix between sad, angry and worried. He knew he had hurt you, and he was determined to make it up to you.

“Y/N?” His voice snapped you out of your thoughts, and the anger immediately took over.  
“Oh look who’s here. Prince Sanji coming to grace me with his presence. Coming to tell me you’re getting married to some princess anyway?”  
“Y/N… I’m sorry. I hurt you.”  
“You don’t say.”  
“I didn’t want to put you or the rest of the crew in danger by getting you all involved. It was a stupid idea, I know.”  
“Oh really?”  
“Is there any way you can forgive me?”

Sanji had taken a few steps closer to you, but still kept a respectful distance. His face seemed to be full of regret. Looking down at your lap where your fists were balled, you decided to let the emotions take over. You got up, closed the distance between you and Sanji and punched him in the face so hard he fell to the ground. Sanji looked up at you in shock, but didn’t make any attempts to get up. The tears finally started flowing over your cheeks.

“Do you have any idea how I felt?! Did you seriously think that we, that I, wouldn’t risk my life for you? After all the shit we’ve been through? I thought we’d tell each other everything Sanji! I thought you trusted me! I don’t give a shit that you’re some prince. What I do give a shit about is you! I…” You were unsure if you should speak the next words or not, but decided now would be as good a time as any. “I saw a future with you, Sanji. I thought that as long as it was with you, I could face whatever hardships would come my way. When I came after you, and you told me to let you go... It broke my heart. I thought what we had was stronger… more precious than that….”

You felt your anger recede during your rant and the sadness came back. Of course you still loved him. How could you not? But what if he pulled a stunt like that again? You weren’t sure if you’d be able to take it. Sanji got up and gently held your hands.

“Y/N… I have no excuse. I did something terrible to you. What we have means the world to me. I’d rather die than bring you in danger… but I now realise that that’s an insult to your strength. You’re a pirate, you’ve taken down so many strong opponents… but I still want to keep you safe. Exactly because I see a future with you too, and if you suddenly disappeared from that future, I don’t know what I’d do…”

Sanji leaned down, kissed your hands and rested his head on top of them. You could feel tears falling on your hands.

“Y/N. I completely understand if you can’t forgive me, and you need only say the word and I’ll leave. But please, I’m begging you, give me another chance.”  
“I’ll… forgive you. But don’t you dare do something like this ever again.”

Sanji looked up from your hands, tears in his eyes, a smile slowly growing on his face.

“I promise, Y/N. I swear on my honour as a cook, I will never hurt you again.”

You finally cracked a smile of your own and tore your hands from his, only to place them on his cheeks and pull him in for a kiss. Sanji immediately wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you as close as possible while returning your kiss. Once you broke the kiss, the both of you stayed in each other’s arms, resting your foreheads together, both crying quietly and taking comfort in the arms of the other. Both determined to never let anything like this happen ever again.


	4. Chamomile - William Vangeance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none!

It had been so long since you had last seen William. With him being the captain of the Golden Dawn, and you being a traveller, the two of you couldn’t meet up often. You’d stop by the capital every now and again to try and visit him, but more often than not he could only see you for a short while because he was busy, or he was on a mission and you couldn’t even see him. You sent letters back and forth, magic is a very useful tool for that, but it just wasn’t the same as meeting in person.

This time though, a letter had come from another friend of yours; Yami. It was rare for him to send you a letter. He usually let you be and listened to your stories over a good drink when you’d visit him. Unlike William, he usually had lots of time to spare and he often let you stay over in the Black Bull headquarters when you were around. Or if he was busy, he’d make time for you. Not something very responsible, but sometimes you wished William would do that for you.

Yami’s letter was short as always and he was super vague as well. You had to be at the Black Bulls HQ in a month. There was no reason. Just that you needed to arrive there the morning of December 24th. You expected it was a Christmas party that he wanted to invite you to for some reason. Not one to turn down a good party, and you knew parties with the Black Bulls were great, you changed your course to make sure you arrived on time.

Entering the Black Bulls building without knocking, you know nobody ever answered anyway, you looked around the room in search for Yami. It wasn’t hard to find him. He was lying on the couch, asleep, surrounded by a few bottles. What a surprise. You chuckled and walked up behind the couch. Using your magic, you flipped it over so the couch was now lying on Yami instead of the other way around. Trying not to giggle too loud, you saw Yami get up.

“Luck! Magna! You guys are in for it no-… Y/N?”  
“Hi Yami~”  
“You did this?” He pointed at the couch next to him.  
“Yup.” you giggled. Yami sighed, put the couch back on its place and lit a cigarette before speaking again.   
“Glad you could make it.”  
“Glad to be here. So, Black Bulls party tonight?”  
“No, we had that last night. Tonight we’re having another party.”  
“With who?”  
“You’ll see. First, come with me.”

Yami refused to tell you what party it was. All you knew is that you were flying towards the capital. Wasn’t William around there? The moment you asked Yami about William, he grinned and you knew you were right. The idea of celebrating Christmas with your two friends warmed your heart.

What happened after though, you didn’t expect. Yami brought you to some kind of beauty parlour. He pushed you in, and a bunch of women flocked you, dragging you with them and prepping you. It took a good while before they were done. They put you in a dress, did your hair, your makeup, your nails,… by the time they were done and you looked in the mirror, you barely believed you were looking at yourself. You almost looked like a noble.

As you left the building, you noticed Yami was sitting in a pub across the street. The moment his eyes landed on you, you could see him whistle through the window and he left the building.

“Looking good, Y/N.”  
“Thanks Yami but... what is this for? I don’t see you dressing up, and parties with us three are never this formal?”  
“I never said it would just be the three of us.” You felt your heart sink to your stomach.  
“Yami... what kind of party is this?”  
“William’s birthday party. We’re doing something with a bunch of magic knights.”  
“Then what am I doing here?!”  
“You’re my present to William.”   
“...I’m WHAT?!”  
“Look, before you kill me, hear me out. William never tells anyone what he wants for his birthday. He always accepts gifts he gets politely, but I know he throws most of that crap out anyway. A while ago we were talking about you and he mentioned it had been a while since he had seen you. So, you being there will be my present.”  
“That’s... oddly sweet of you. Two questions though.”  
“Shoot.”  
“Why didn’t you tell me about the party earlier?”  
“Because I knew you’d freak out the moment I mentioned that there’d be a shitload of strangers.”  
“Good judgement, fair enough. Second. Why?” You gestured at your face and dress as you asked the second question.   
“Gifts should be wrapped nicely, right?”

You slapped your forehead and sighed. Yami chuckled and spoke up again.

“Let’s go, we need to be there before him.”

Following Yami, you ended up in a nice-looking tavern. There were a lot of people already waiting inside. Most of them were wearing the Golden Dawn uniform, members of his squad you guessed. Some were also dressed in uniforms form other squads, and you recognised most of them were captains. The moment you and Yami entered, all eyes were on you and a man with black hair in a green cape whistled.

“Who’s that, Yami?”  
“A friend of Williams. Don't tell him she’s here, it’s a surprise.”

Before the man could reply, Yami dragged you along to one of the rooms that was connected to the tavern hall. After telling you to stay there until he came to get you, Yami left the room, leaving you and your nerves alone.

You had no idea how long you were in there before you heard a commotion from behind the door. William had arrived, and you could feel your heart beat faster. Trying to remain as calm as you could, you waited for any sign from Yami to come out. Not too long after, you heard 3 knocks on the door before it opened. Stepping out of the room, all nerves vanished the moment you saw William. His face changed from his usual composed expression to one of surprise. You were surprised too though, because he was not wearing his mask. You had seen him without it before, but he never took it off in front of others. Composing yourself, you spoke up.

“Hi William, happy birthday.” You smiled.   
“Y/N...” William got up from his chair and walked up to you, also smiling. “It’s such a pleasant surprise to see you here.”  
“You’ll have to thank Yami for that.”

Before the conversation could continue, someone else called out to William, clearly excited to give their present. William somewhat begrudgingly tore his eyes away from you to receive his other presents. You stood next to Yami as you watched, waiting for him to be done. Every now and again his eyes would shift towards you and you’d smile at him, which made him smile as well.

A few hours passed like that. After everyone had given William their presents, they pulled him along for some shenanigans. Most of them involved alcohol. You stuck with Yami and drank with him, deciding that now was probably not a good time to disturb William. The man with the black hair who whistled at you earlier sat down at the table with you and Yami.

“So, William’s got himself a girlfriend, huh? How come we’ve never seen you? If I were him, I wouldn’t let a cutie like you out of my sight.”  
“Oh we’re not-“  
“She travels a lot. You know William, he’s too busy with work to keep her from getting bored.” Yami cut you off with a grin.   
“Tch, that sounds like him.” The man said disapprovingly.   
“Hey, giant string beam, why don’t we give the lovebirds a chance to slip away?”  
“Huh? What did you just call me, you stupid meathead?”  
“Y/N, here’s your chance. We’re going to create an opening, you pull William away and get out of here.” Yami said as he grinned at you.   
“Wait what?”

Before you could even ask what was going on, Yami and the other man got up and walked towards the group where William was. Once there, they pulled out their weapons and started picking a fight with each other. You had no idea what was going on, but you did know that this was your chance to finally get some time with William. Running over there, you grabbed Williams hand in the commotion and pulled him outside with you. William followed you, unsure of what was going on. Once outside, you ran out of the street, not quite sure where to go yourself. William seemed to have an idea though, and he pulled you through a few streets to a little park. You both stood there catching your breath before William spoke up.

“I’m sorry, did I take too long?”  
“Oh no! That was Yami’s idea.”  
“I see… I’ll have to thank him for it later. I’ve been wanting to speak with you all night.”  
“Really? Well, I guess it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.”  
“It has been. How are you, Y/N?”

The two of you walked through the park as the two of you caught up on what happened since you last saw each other.

“You’ve changed” you said. William looked at you in surprise.  
“I hope not in a bad way?”  
“Oh no! Definitely in a good way! When I saw you in the midst of all those people without your mask, I guess… I felt kind of proud?”  
“Proud?”  
“Yes… you know, you were always so insecure about it, but here you’re showing your beautiful face to everyone.” You smiled and looked over to William, who seemed a little embarrassed.   
“My beautiful face…? Surely you jest, Y/N.”  
“Not at all.” He looked at you in surprise, but then smiled.   
“Thank you for the compliment, Y/N, but I can’t hold a candle to the beauty of you, certainly here in the moonlight.”

Now it was your turn to get a little embarrassed. You looked away with a smile, which made William chuckle.

“I truly am happy to have seen you here tonight, Y/N. For how long will you be staying?”  
“I haven’t decided yet. I did come all the way out here, I might as well stick around for a while.”  
“I… would like it if you did. Maybe we could… spend some more time together?”  
“Aren’t you busy?”  
“I am but… I don’t want to let my work get in the way of spending the precious time you are here with you. I’ve truly not spent enough time with you over the last few years, and for that I apologise. And I’d like to make up for it.” You smiled after hearing this.   
“Better get started then, you’ve got a lot to make up for, I’ve spent more time with Yami this year alone than with you over the past… what? 3 years? Maybe 4?” William’s expression turned serious at the mention of Yami.   
“Y/N, I have to ask you something… Are you and Yami in a relationship?” You blinked a few times before you answered.   
“No, we’re not. Why?”  
“In that case, would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?”  
“Oh I’d love to! But I don’t see what that has to do with me and Yami being in a relationship or not?”  
“Because I’d like for it to be a date.” You looked at William in shock.   
“A…date…?”  
“Ah, if you don’t feel the same that is fine, and we can just have it be a dinner between friends… but I’ve had feelings for you for a while already, Y/N. I was always nervous about telling you, and I always thought I wasn’t good enough for you… but I don’t want to hide it anymore.”  
“No! I’d love for it to be a date! I just… I never expected you to feel the same?”  
“I see we had the same worry… I wish I had found the courage to tell you sooner, now.”

The two of you laughed at the situation and the absurdness of it. Once the laughter died down, you spoke up again.

“Let’s return to the party, it’s your birthday after all.”  
“Sadly, you’re right. I’d much rather look at you in the moonlight all night, though.”

He held his arm out to you, and you linked your arm with his after rolling your eyes. It was going to be a long night, though the thought of spending tomorrow evening alone with William made it all a bit more bearable.


	5. Chai - Byakuya Kuchiki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none!

You took a deep breath and lifted a shaky hand to knock on the door to your captains office. Cursing yourself for your fear, you swallowed, and opened the door as soon you heard a familiar voice tell you to come in. After entering you closed the door behind you and walked up to the desk. Byakuya Kuchiki, your captain and longtime crush, was working on some paperwork. He hadn’t looked up to acknowledge you just yet, he was still writing, so you simply stood in silence, waiting impatiently for him to finish and address you.

Nerves were normal whenever you had to report to Byakuya, it came with the crush. This time though, you had an extra reason to be nervous. During the last mission you were on, you had disobeyed his direct orders. Because of this you got in trouble, and Byakuya had to step in to protect you. The both of you had gotten hurt in that little stunt. Byakuya had not said anything about it directly after the mission. He had told you to go get your wounds healed, and to report to him afterwards.

The look in his eyes and the tone of his voice were the things that bothered you though. He sounded colder than usual, but when you looked into his eyes, you saw the anger burning behind them. You had seriously pissed him off with your little stunt and that’s what worried you. It was hard to piss this man off. Was he going to kick you out of the squad? Was he going to demote you? Was he going to scold you? Something worse than any of that?

You snapped out of your thoughts when you heard Byakuya put his pen down. He looked up from his desk, and his eyes met yours. Unlike the anger you had seen in them before, you couldn’t see any hint of emotion in them right now, and it made you fear for what was to come.

“I’m sure you know why I’ve called you here.”  
“Yes sir.”  
“You have one chance to explain why you disobeyed my order.”  
“I apologise, Kuchiki-taichou. I thought that the others would get hurt.”  
“Did you think I’d tell you to stand down and watch your comrades die?”  
“No captain.”  
“Then you shouldn’t have jumped out. Earlier-”  
“I’m sorry captain, my body just moved on its own.” A flash of annoyance was visible on Byakuya’s face.   
“…earlier on the day, when we went over the plan for this mission, I clearly mentioned that-“  
“I apologise captain, I was late for the briefing, I overslept.” His eyes narrowed.   
“…I clearly mentioned that the team you tried to protect was shielded. Even though you were late, you were present when I mentioned this-“  
“My apologies captain, I-“  
“Stop interrupting me.”

The annoyance was clearly visible on his face, and his eyes glared into yours. You let out a yelp at his sudden harsh tone and nodded, afraid to speak another word. Even if he didn’t raise his voice, the sternness was all he needed to get you to shut up.

“I know you meant well, and I respect your will to protect your comrades, but I need you to stick to the plan. If I hadn’t stepped in, you would have died, Y/N. And for what?”

The harsh tone he used earlier was now completely gone, and you swear you could see something softer in his eyes as he said that. Though that was probably just wishful thinking, right? You didn’t answer him, too afraid to get another scolding, and dropped your head to look at the ground. You could hear the man in front of you sigh.

“Y/N, you’re a good person. One of the better ones around even. I don’t know the circumstances, but I heard from some other Shinigami that you’ve had some things going on and that that’s why you missed part of the meeting for the plan, and that that’s why you’ve been distracted. I do not need to know these circumstances, but I do want you to tell me or Abarai about this. Either we’ll explain the plan again to you or we’ll pull you out of the mission. I will not watch you die because you were too proud or ashamed to admit something is wrong. Understood?”

You mumbled our a “Yes sir” as you looked up from the ground, still not entirely believing what you just heard. He was worrying about you, right?

“Good. Once your wounds are healed, I expect you to be back to your usual duties and training, no slacking off. I also expect there to be no more disobedience, otherwise there will be consequences. Understood?”  
“Yes sir.”  
“Then you are dismissed.”

You nodded and left his office, wondering what just happened. On your way back to the barracks, you came across Renji who walked up to you the moment he saw you.

“Y/N! How are your wounds?”  
“They’ll heal, it’s nothing too bad.”  
“That’s good. Have you spoken to Kuchiki-taichou yet?”  
“I just did.”  
“Good. How’d it go?”  
“…better than I expected? I’d almost say he was worried about me.” You laughed nervously, still unsure if it was your imagination or not. Renji looked around before answering.   
“Look, you don’t know this from me, but he asks around about you. And not in a bad way. So if you ask me? Yes, he definitely was worried. That guy cares more than he lets on.”

You stared in shock at Renji as he grinned, bid you goodbye, and walked past you.


	6. Strawberry with whipped cream - Killer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none!

When he Victoria Punk finally docked somewhere, you were ecstatic to get off the ship and on the land. You had no idea why, but lately Kid had been such an annoying little shit. Any time you wanted to spend some time with Killer, he’d intervene somehow. He’d call Killer to help him in the workshop, he told you to go do something,… anything to get between the two of you. He was your captain, so you had to listen to him. Even if you refused, Killer was loyal to a fault and he would convince you to do it anyway.

You and Killer hadn’t been together for that long yet, but everyone in the crew had been very happy for the two of you. Heat and Wire actually made jokes about giving you two some extra space. Kid on the other hand started doing quite the opposite of this. Was he annoyed about a relationship on the ship? Was it some kind of jealousy because he and Killer had been friends for so long already and he didn’t want a girl in the mix? Was he just being a little shit? You had no idea. Whenever you asked Killer, he never seemed to be too worried about it, saying this was pretty much normal for Kid.

Today you had planned a little getaway for the two of you. No way Kid could come bother you when you were somewhere on the island, right? You had packed some food and drinks for the two of you. The weather was nice, so the plan was to grab the bag, grab Killer and get the hell away from this ship and it’s meddlesome captain. Slinging the bag over your shoulder, you exited the kitchen and searched for your masked boyfriend. It didn’t take long for you to find him, and before he or anyone else noticed what was going on, you grabbed his hand and dragged him off the ship.

“Y/N? What are you doing?”  
“We’re going on a date, away from the rest so Kid can’t disturb us.”  
“But what if something happens?” You looked at him and noticed the red spots on his neck, indicating that he wasn’t worried about Kid at all, he was just embarrassed.   
“I’m sure Kid can survive half a day without us. There’s enough other crewmembers to bother.”

With a grin, you continued walking, not quite sure where you were going. You hadn’t been on this island before, but you noticed a nice forest a little to the west of the village so that’s where you were planning to go. As soon as you were far away enough from the ship to not be seen anymore, you slowed down and started walking at a calmer pace, still holding Killer’s hand. He didn’t say another word about the situation and listened to you rambling, a little curious about what you had planned.

Once you reached a place you liked, a little spot at the edge of the forest where you could still hear and smell the ocean, you laid a blanket out on the ground under a tree and grabbed the food and drinks out from your bag.

“Don’t worry, I brought straws, and all food is mask-approved.”

You smiled at Killer as he sat down next to you. He gave you a nod of appreciation as he grabbed some food. Killer had told you he wasn’t comfortable with showing you his face just yet, and you made no problem out of it. The longer the wait, the sweeter the reward, right? Sure, you were curious, but his comfort was more important than your curiosity.

The peaceful picnic didn’t last long though. The moment you heard Heat calling Killer and you, you knew your little getaway was over. You had told Heat which direction you were going in, so he could find you in case of an emergency. Yelling out his name, you let him know where you were and got up.

“Killer! Y/N! It’s Kid! He’s started a fight in town and now all these marines showed up!”

You groaned. For fucks sake. Even when you weren’t on the same ship, he had found a way to disturb your peace. Killer nodded and told you to get back to the ship, and to get it ready to set sail. You nodded and Heat and Killer started running.

“Killer!” you called him back. Killer stopped and turned to you.   
“Hurry back.” You said with a sad smile, kind of disappointed at the turn of events.

Killer stood still for a little before walking up to you and taking your hand with one of his own. To your surprise, he used the other hand to lift his mask just a little as he bent down and gently kissed your fingers.

“I will.”

He then readjusted his mask and ran towards Heat, who had watched the event happen with a smile. You stood in shock as you watched them run to the village and disappear out of sight. With a small smile, you packed the stuff from your little picnic back into the bag and ran to the ship. Yes, Kid would probably continue messing with you and Killer, but at least it wasn’t affecting your relationship in a negative way.

Maybe even the contrary.


	7. Forest Fruits - Sabo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modern AU!   
> Warnings: none!

You and Sabo had been dating for quite a while now. The two of you were in the same class on the final period of Friday. The one moment where nobody was paying attention to what was going on anymore. You had been staring at Sabo a lot during these classes, and you caught him staring at you more than once as well. Despite having rarely talked, the attraction was undeniable. Sabo had been the first to confess and you had confessed in return.

The early stages of dating were awkward. You were both still getting used to each other, getting to know each other, and on top of that, finding out what was appropriate. When you date a friend, you already know their boundaries, things they are ok with and things they are not. Things like subjects, physical touch, public spaces, secrecy,… Figuring this out as you went didn’t go without a few stumbles, but miraculously the two of you made it.

Finally, the two of you were out of the woods. You knew most about each other by now, you knew and respected each other’s boundaries, and together the two of you had fallen into a comfortable routine of dating, that being dinner together every Friday, whether it was at a restaurant or a fast-food joint or eating at your place, and spending some time together during the week, often on breaks between classes. Sometimes Sabo would come over to your place and you’d study together in silence.

That was the thing though: it was always at your house. You lived alone and didn’t have to inform anyone when having him over. Sabo, however, lived with his two brothers, his father and his grandfather. He had told you about them a lot, and the thought of meeting them both excited and scared you. They sounded like a very loving family, but in their own, special, maybe slightly violent way. He had told you about how his grandfather still often hit him over the head when he did something stupid, or how he and his brothers would sometimes get into fights because all of them were so stubborn. You knew from the look in his eyes that he loved them dearly, but the thought worried you a bit.

Today though, you’d have to face them. Of course Sabo’s family knew he was seeing someone, why else would he be gone every Friday night? He tried to keep you away from his family for as long as possible. Meeting your boyfriends family was a big deal, and he didn’t want to make you do that before you were comfortable. His grandfather, however, had decided that they had waited long enough, and that if they didn’t come over soon, and he’d go pick them up himself on Friday after school. Knowing the things his grandfather was capable of, Sabo suggested to have dinner at his place on Friday, with his family. You had agreed, but still were nervous.

You had gone over your appearance three times, practiced saying ‘good evening, sir. Nice to meet you, my name is Y/N’ and had done some breathing exercises. During all classes from that day, you were way too distracted to focus on what the teacher was saying. Sabo noticed your nerves during the final class, the one you had together, and tried to reassure you. The teacher didn’t like him being so focused on you instead of on his class though, and he got a small piece of chalk thrown at him, which he just managed to avoid getting hit by.

After the class had finally ended, Sabo and you walked back to his house together. You were holding hands as you walked, but you felt how sweaty your palms were and wiped them on your clothes several times. Sabo chuckled at your actions, but in reality, you weren’t the only one with sweaty palms. He knew how his family could get, and he really didn’t want you to get caught up in an argument or fight. He really hoped they would behave.

The walk to his home ended all too soon, and it didn’t take long for you to come face to face with his family. His grandfather looked like he could snap someones neck with his pinky finger, his father looked very scary because of the tattoo on his face, and his bothers were oddly cute, just like him, but both of them also looked very strong.

“Ace! I told you to put on a shirt! We have a visitor!”  
“So what? They can watch, I don’t mind.” Garp hit Ace overhead.  
“We don’t want to make them uncomfortable! Shirt! Now!”

Ace sighed and went upstairs to get a shirt. Sabo was already burning up at this point. Of course Ace was still walking around shirtless, the idiot. Luffy laughed at what just happened, walked up to you and held out his hand for you to shake.

“Hi! I’m Luffy! Sabo has told me a lot about you. He told me you were very pretty and nice and well, you ARE pretty! I can’t say if you’re nice or not yet though, I’ll let you know after dinner!”

This made both Garp and Dragon laugh loudy, while Sabo turned even redder than before and began to whisper shout at Luffy that he shouldn’t have said that, after which Luffy simply turned to you with a big grin and told you to ‘forget about what he just said’. You too were laughing loudly at this point. Ace came back downstairs, now fully clothed, saw Sabo’s face and started laughing too.

“Sabo, you look like a tomato!” Ace yelled, followed by laughter.  
“Shut up Ace!” Sabo yelled back.  
“I don’t like tomato’s! Change it to an apple!” Luffy yelled.  
“You don’t have to eat it Luffy, it’s just a manner of speech!” Ace yelled.  
“But tomato’s are yucky!” Luffy answered.  
“Apples aren’t always red!” Ace yelled back.  
“Oh, you’re right.” Luffy said, instantly calming down.  
“Enough! Boys, dinnertable!” Garp bellowed above the noise.

The 3 boys instantly quiet down and ran towards the dinner table, quickly sitting down on their usual seats. You were still staring at all of them, still processing what just happened.

“I’m sorry about that. Please, do sit down with us.” Dragon said, as he gestured to a seat at the table. You nodded, and sat down on the chair he pointed at, which happened to be the one next to Sabo, and across from Garp.

Dinner started out awkward. The food was good, no problems there, but it felt like you were being interrogated. What did you study? Did you have siblings? How long had you known Sabo? The list went on and on. Sabo told them few times to quit it, but they brushed it off, telling him that they wanted to know who he was dating.

Once dessert came on the table though, all questions had been asked, and now the table was filled with cheerful chatter. You had gladly joined them in their chatter, finding their company rather amusing. Sabo was watching you with a smile, relieved that now their questioning was over, you were actually laughing and relaxing a little.

“Hey, Y/N! Do you want to see pictures of Sabo when he was a kid?” Garp suddenly asked.  
“Don’t do that, gramps! She’ll see how ugly he used to be.” Ace teased with a grin.  
“Gramps no!” Sabo exclaimed, but Garp had already stood up from his chair and had grabbed a book from a nearby shelf.

Sabo was about to stop Garp, but Ace stepped in and grabbed him from behind so he couldn’t move. Garp opened the book in front of you with a big grin, and started showing you pictures. Sabo stopped resisting with a sigh, admitting defeat. Ace grinned and ruffled his hair, while Luffy excitedly sat down next to you to look at the pictures too. Dragon was watching it all happen with a grin.

“Hey look! Sabo! This is that time at the circus!” Luffy yelled, pointing at a picture.  
“You mean the time when we spilled that slushie on himself? That’s a good story, maybe we should tell Y/N” Ace grinned.  
“No!” Sabo yelled.  
“Yes we should!” Luffy yelled and he turned to you. “You see, we went to a circus, and we all got these slushies. Sabo got a red one, Ace and I got a blue one. Sabo was breaking some ice in his slushie but he was too rough and he poked a hole in the bottom of the cup! So all the slushie fell on his shirt! It was a white shirt, so it stained a lot. He started crying hysterically! But it was just at a moment that the whole circus was quiet, so they shone the spotlight on us to see if there was a problem. When they saw the red stain, they thought it was blood or something and everyone freaked out. It was so funny!”

Sabo looked away, face burning and red. When he did though, he noticed the clock. It was already much later than expected.

“Y/N, it’s getting late. I’ll walk you home.”

After wiping your tears from laughing away, you nodded and thanked everyone for the meal and the nice evening. Dragon told you to come back anytime, and Garp told you you could call him gramps too if you liked. It was a bit weird, but it was a sign that they accepted you. Ace nodded at you when he told you goodbye, and Luffy gave you a big hug, telling you to come over again soon, and that Sabo was right, you were a nice person. Sabo quickly pulled you out of the house and started walking you home.

“That was embarrassing” Sabo said.  
“You think so? I thought it was cute.”  
“Yes, that’s the problem, Y/N” Sabo groaned.

You laughed and took his hand, lacing your fingers with his. The rest of the walk home was filled with a comfortable silence, until you reached your house.

“There we go, I hope you at least had some fun?” Sabo asked.  
“I had a lot of fun. We should do that again sometime, your family is great.”  
“We’ll… see about that.” Sabo said hesitantly, not wanting his family to embarrass him even more in front of you. You laughed and turned to him, stepping a bit closer.

“Goodnight?” you said with a smile. Sabo smiled as well and closed the distance between your lips, meeting yours in a sweet kiss.  
“Goodnight” he said as his lips parted from yours.

You stepped back and walked towards your door, unlocking it and waving one last time at Sabo before closing it. You were really hoping you could go back there sometime soon.


	8. Minty Morocco - Charlotte Katakuri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: angst, hurt without comfort

It had been a few months since your marriage to Katakuri. An arranged marriage is not what you wanted for yourself, but definitely something you expected. That’s the way it goes when your father is influential and wants even more influence. Big Mom liked your fathers business and decided an alliance was a good idea, and what better way to forge an alliance than to let your children get married? All in all, it wasn’t too bad, really. The Charlotte family was weird for sure, and it took a lot of getting used to food talking and walking... anything, really, but you were managing. The only problem you had was your husband.

Out of all the Charlotte children, he came closest to your type. He was handsome, he was strong, he cared about his family... he was just perfect in every way. There was just one thing that bothered you. He was so stoic and distant. When you had first heard about the marriage you were nervous, and you were worried about having to suddenly marry a stranger. At the time, you thought Katakuri kept his distance from you because he was being considerate. You appreciated it, and started to think that maybe, just maybe, you could make this marriage work.

But now, even after months of being married, there was no change. He made no attempt to get to know you, he rarely talked to you at all. He didn’t sleep with you, he didn’t eat with you,… nothing. You lived in the same house, but he was gone most of the time. Whenever you’d cook for him, he refused it. Whenever you suggested to do something together, he turned you down. One time you even gathered the courage to wait for him on his bed, and he just told you to leave and go back to your own room. You started to think that he wasn’t interested in you entirely and having your every attempt shot down so quickly did horrible things for your mood.

Today, you decided you’d give it one last shot. Nothing too big, but it was the last chance you were going to give this marriage before giving up. No matter the infatuation you had with the man, if he wasn’t going to return your feelings, or at least put in an effort to make this marriage work, you’d go find your happiness somewhere else. Of course you couldn’t run from this marriage, but at least you could try to find happiness with another person in secret.

Katakuri came home the same time as usual and you were sitting in the living room. You greeted him and walked up to him. He stopped walking and greeted you as well, waiting for you to speak up.

“Katakuri, do you have a moment to talk?”  
“Yes.”

You took a deep breath to calm yourself before speaking.

“We’ve been married for a few months now. I know neither of us chose for this marriage but… since we’re stuck like this. I thought we might as well try to make it work. I’ve been trying to make this clear for a while now but… either you’re not interested or you didn’t pick up on them. It may not have been love at first sight but… maybe we can get to know each other? And fall in love still?”

Sometime during your monologue you had lost the confidence to keep your eyes locked with him. When you finally looked up to him again after you finished speaking, you didn’t see any change in his eyes. There was no confirmation that he wanted to try, but there was also no confirmation he absolutely hated the idea. He just looked down at you in silence.

“Katakuri?”

You called out his name, but once again he didn’t reply. Deciding you take the gamble, you reached your hand out to his face, intending to put it on his cheek and try to lean in for a kiss. Before your hand even got close though, Katakuri’s expression hardened and his hand shot out to grab your wrist. His grasp was tight to the point where it hurt you, and you let out a little yelp of pain.

“Never do that again.” Katakuri kept eye contact with you as he spoke, not easing his hold on your wrist. “Do you understand?”

You quickly nodded and Katakuri let go of your wrist as he walked past you towards his room and closed the door behind him. Holding your bruised wrist, you felt the tears start to run down your face as the gravity of his words sunk in. He did not want you to touch him. He did not even want to put in an effort to make this marriage work.

Wiping the tears from your eyes, you went to the kitchen and grabbed a cold compress for your wrist. The message was clear. Tomorrow, you’d start looking for something or someone to make the rest of your life in Toto Land more bearable. But tonight, you’d cry and accept that you were stuck in a loveless marriage.


	9. Earl Grey - Sir Crocodile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none!

When people asked you about your relationship with Sir Crocodile, or Mr. Zero, you’d say it was great. That was no lie to get people to shut up about it either. You and Crocodile had been together for years now, and apart from the occasional fight everything was great. He was not the kind of person to brag about your relationship, but he never lied about it either. You weren’t showered in hugs and kisses all day, but the moments of affection were there. If he was gone for an extended period of time, a little gift would find its way to you. When he’d come back, he’d make sure to spend a whole day with you to make up for lost time. He always made sure you felt loved and appreciated. Today, you decided to return the favour, if only a little.

Planning something behind his back was no easy feat but you really wanted to surprise him. You were being watched constantly by one of his people when he was gone or when you went out. Luckily one of his people, Mr. 2, was more than happy to not only shut up about your plans, but also to help you. You were so worried that he’d spill your plan to Crocodile after telling him, but instead he started telling you how cute you were, and how Crocodile was so lucky to have you. He promised to help you in any way he could. That’s how this plan came to fruition.

The plan started with you preparing a candlelit dinner. It may not have been as fancy as something you could buy in the restaurants you frequented together, however, you knew he appreciated it more because it was made by you. You being a pretty good cook was part of that though. After dinner, the two of you would go for a walk, just enjoying each other's company and catching up. Crocodile had been horribly caught up in his work, and you wanted to give him a chance to relax. There was a firework show in town this evening, and you thought it’d be nice to watch it together. You had no idea if Crocodile liked fireworks, but you knew he liked most traditional romantic things. It may not have been the most complicated plan but the idea of managing to surprise Crocodile made you exited nonetheless.

Part one of your plan had already been a success. Mr. 2 had secretly brought you all ingredients you needed to make dinner, and everything had been prepared perfectly. The table had been set, and you had lit enough candles on the table and throughout the room to have that perfect dim lighting. A single rose in a vase on the table was your finishing touch. You were proud to have created such a romantic atmosphere.

When you heard the door open, you had to contain yourself from letting out various noises of excitement, and instead chose for a smile.

“Over here, dear.” you called out from your spot next to the dining room table. Heavy footsteps made its way toward you. His face when he entered the room told you he hadn’t expected this at all.   
“I made dinner.”  
“Dinner by candlelight? What did I do to deserve this, Y/N?”  
“Always being so good to me. I thought it’d be nice to give back a little. Sit down, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

Crocodile sat down with a small smile, and the two of you started eating. Dinner went by without a hitch. You were both relaxed, you had a nice chat and Crocodile complimented you on the food. Part one of your plan was a success. On to part two.

It did take you a little convincing to get Crocodile to go outside with you, he actually wanted to read a book on the couch with you tucked into his side, but after realising it was something you had planned, he agreed. Linking your arms, the two of you started walking around town. The people of Alabasta greeted Crocodile with smiles, which he politely returned.

What surprised you and a lot of other people in town was when the fireworks went off, about an hour before they should have.

“That wasn’t supposed to happen.” you frowned. “Not yet, anyway.”

Crocodile looked at you, about to ask you something, when the comfortable buzz of sound in the square was replaced by the screaming of people. The moment they saw Crocodile though, they immediately calmed down. One man spoke up, explaining the situation.

“Sir Crocodile, it’s pirates! They’re in the town square, near the clock tower!”

You looked at Crocodile’s face to see if this was something he planned. The clear annoyance on his face told you it was not. Unlinking your arm from his, you took a step back.

“Go, they need you.” you said. Crocodile looked at you and nodded.   
“Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

After having said those words, Crocodile took off in a flash of sand. The people around you spoke highly of Crocodile, commending him for his courage. Some people told you how amazing he was and how jealous they were of you for being with him. You knew how amazing he was and took great pride in calling him yours, but you could only wonder what they would think if his secret ever came to light.

It didn’t take more than 5 minutes for the screaming to quiet down, and for it to be replaced by cheering. A few minutes later, Crocodile was back at your side. He may have saved the day, but you felt like there was nothing left that could save this date. People just wouldn’t leave him alone after something like this, you knew it.

“Since the fireworks are not happening, how about we go back home?”

Crocodile agreed and the two of you walked back to your shared home. Once there, you were about to get the kitchen cleaned up until Crocodile grabbed your hand. You turned back to him with a look of confusion.

“This date isn’t over yet, Y/N. I’ve done what you planned until now, now it’s time to do what I planned.”

With a small grin, Crocodile pulled you over to the couch where he grabbed his book from the table and sat down, pulling you to sit next to him and wrapping his arm around you. You let out a content sigh and snuggled up closer to him. Sure, the second part of your plan may have failed, but this wasn’t bad either.


	10. Rosehip - Roronoa Zoro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: alcohol, negative thoughts, pretty fluffy

You looked over the crew as the party went on. The Strawhats had saved another village from bad guys and now they threw a party in their honour. Of course Luffy agreed immediately, not denying the promise of fun and good food. The party had started when the sun was still up but it was long gone now, and the moon shone brightly in the sky.

You knew this kind of stuff happened, but this was the first time you were actually there to experience it yourself. As a new member of the crew, it was amazing to see what these people could do. Even though you did the best you could during the fights, you couldn’t help but feel like you were weighing the crew down. You knew very well this was not the case, if you were a bother you’d have been kicked off the ship already. Pirates have no time to be messing around with a charity case after all. Even though you knew that, the feeling wouldn’t go away.

“Hey, Y/N.”

You were snapped out of your thoughts by a familiar voice. Looking up, you saw Zoro walking towards you. Zoro was probably the one you got along with the best. He’d been very welcoming every since you stepped on the ship and he was usually a pretty calm guy, which was a nice change from all the high-energy people on the ship.

“Hey, Zoro. Enjoying the party?”  
“I am, the booze is great. You should try some.”  
“Maybe later.” You smiled.  
“More for me.” Zoro shrugged with a grin as he took another swig of the bottle he was holding. “Are you enjoying the party though? You’ve been standing away from everyone for a while now.”  
“It’s just a bit too loud for me. I’m more comfortable over here.”  
“You know you can go back to the ship earlier if you’re uncomfortable, right?”  
“Yeah, I know.”

A comfortable silence took over as the two of you watched the party together from a distance. Luffy was eating so much you wondered how he hadn’t exploded yet, Usopp, Franky and Chopper were dancing together, Sanji was chatting with Nami and Robin and Brook was playing music with some people from the town. It was such a nice sight to behold. A brief worry of you not fitting in crossed your mind but you quickly dismissed it. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be here anymore, and Zoro wouldn’t have come to join you. You let out a sigh, hoping these thoughts would stop bothering you soon.

“You’ve been sighing a lot lately. Something on your mind?”  
“I’m sorry, I guess I’m just a little homesick.” It wasn’t really a lie, but it wasn’t the complete truth either.   
“Do you miss your family and friends from home?”  
“A little, but if I’m being honest it’s not just that…” You had no idea where the sudden courage to speak up about it came from. You guessed it was because it was just Zoro right now, he always made you feel safe. Like you could do or say anything without being judged.   
“Then what else is there?”  
“You know, you’re all so amazing and I’m just… taking up space?”  
“Take that back.”  
“What?”  
“You take that back right now. You’re not just taking up space. You’re a part of the crew. Without you, we’d all be missing something. A close friend. Someone who always has to be there. A loved one.”

Your eyes widened and you turned to Zoro, looking for any sign of a joke or a lie on his face. When you saw none, you struggled to hold back the tears.

“Do you mean that?”  
“Why would I lie about that? We all care about you. You’re part of the crew. You belong here.”

Unable to hold back the tears any longer, you let them flow with a smile. You tried to wipe the tears away, feeling a little silly for crying while you were feeling so happy, but for every tear you wiped away, it seemed there was another to take its place. Zoro smiled at you and put one arm around you, pulling you into him and offering you a shoulder to cry on. You gladly took the opportunity and let the tears flow, enjoying the feeling of safety and love. Your love for him was more than just the way crewmembers loved each other, though you wouldn’t admit that to him just yet. You had fessed up enough of your feelings to him for one night. That didn’t stop you from making a promise to yourself though. You’d learn to accept that you did have the right to be on this ship. Once you’d come to terms with that, you’d confess to him.


End file.
